Thrashing-machine



(No Model.) esneets-sneet 1. W. H. BUTTERWORTH & J. BUTTERWORTH. Jr.

THRASHING MACHINE. I

No. 490,944. Patentd Jan. 31.1893;

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THRASHING MACHINE.

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THRASHING' MACHINE.

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- 6 Sheets-Sheet 4. W. H. BUTTERWORTH & J'. BUTTERWORTH, Jr.

THRASHING MACHINE.

Patented Jan. 31, 1 893.

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' THRASHINGMAGHINE.

No. 490,944. Patented Jan. 31,1893,

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6 Sheets-Sheet 6.

(No' Model.)

WLH. BUTTE RWORTH & J. BUTTERWORTH, Jr.

THRASHING MACHINE.

No. 490,944. Patented Jan. 31, 1893.

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WILLIAM H. BUTTERWORTH AND JOHN BUTTERWOR'lI-I, J R., OF TRENTON, NEIVJERSEY.

- THRASHlNG-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 490,944, dated January31, 1893.

Application filed June 12, 1888. Serial No. 276,856. (No model.)

To a whom it may concern: the machine is not in use or is being trans-Be it known that we, VVILLIAM H. BUTTER- ported from place to place.

WORTH and JOHN BUTTERVVOR'IH, J r., citizens In order to properlysupport the side tables of the United States, and residents of Trenwhen.the latter are extended, as shown at the ton, Mercer county, New Jersey,have inventright in Fig. 2, we hang to suitable brackets ed certainImprovements in Thrashing-Mab on the side frame or casing of themachine,

chines, of which the following is a specifica thelower ends of bracebars B the upper ends tion. of. which, when the side tables areextended,

Our invention consists of certaindetails in bear against the under sidesof strengthenlo the construction of a thrashing machine, with ing cleatsb on said sidertables and serve to the view of efiect-ing generalimprovementin support the same, lateral deflection of the the operationof the machine, the specific feabraces B being prevented by means oflinks tures of the machine being fully set forth and 0 connecting eyes 0near the upper ends of specifically claimed hereinafter. the braces, tosimilar eyes 0 secured to the 15 In theaccompanying drawings-Figure 1 iscleats 1) near the inner ends of the side tables. a side viewofathrashing machine constructed When the side tables are thrown in overthe in accordance with our invention; Fig. 2 is a top of the machine,these links serve to draw transverse section of the same on the lineinward the upper ends of the braces B, the 1-2, Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is alongitudinal section of latter finally assuming a vertical, or nearly 20the feed end of the machine, on a larger scale vertical position at thesides of the machine,

than Fig. 1; Fig. 4is alongitudinal section of so as to be out of theway. the cylinder on a still larger scale; Fig. 5 is It is obvious thatthe braces can be hingedan end view of the cylinder; Fig. 6 is a transattheir lower ends, direct to the sides oft-hev verse section of the same;Fig. 7 is alongiframe, and that the lateral deflection of the 25 tudinalsection of the tailings elevator; Fig. upper ends of the braces can beprevented. by 8 is an enlarged perspective view of one of the anyflexible connection between said braces end plates of the concave; Fig.9 is an enand the side or top tables. larged perspective view of part ofthe gearing In feeding machines of this class, it isnecfordrivingthebinder; Figs.10and l1 areviews essary that the feedtable D should occupy a 30 illustrating a brace for the overhangingporcertain height, dependentupon the statureof tion of the frame andconveyer of the machine; the attendantwho is feeding the machine, inFig. 12 is a transverse section of the floor or order that the lattermay work to the best grain bottom of the conveyer portion of theadvantage, and as the feed table must always machine; Fig. 13 isa plan'view of the concave; occupy a certain relation to the cylinder, it p 35Fig. 14 is aperspective View of the upperdrum cannot conveniently beadjusted to suit the for the tailings elevator; and Fig. 15 is a viewstature of the attendant, hence We provide illustrating a modificationof the same, and the frame of the machine with hanger plates Fig. 16 isa longitudinal section of the mad having a vertical row or series ofopenings, chine. to, any of which may be adapted a bolt (1',

40 A represents the main frame or casing of the which provides a supportfor the inner end of machine, to the sides of which, at each side of theplatform D, on which stands the attendthe receiving table a, on the topof the maant who is feeding the machine, so that the chine, are hung theside tables B, B, which can platform can be readily adjusted to suit thebe turned outward, as shown at the right-hand stature of the attendant.Chains E, one at 45 side of Fig. 2, so as toincrease the lateral caeachside of the platform D serve to sup- 5 pacity of the receving table, orcan be lifted, port the outer portion of said platform, the as shown bydotted lines, when thrashing close upper ends of these chains beingapplied to to a stack, or in a narrow barn, or can be foldsuitable hookson the fixed frame, so that ed over the table a, as shown at theleft-hand they can be readily adjusted to properly sup- 50 side of Fig.2, so as to be out of the way when port the outer portion of theplatform in any facilitates the forward feeding of the straw onto thehorizontal portion of the table, and is less liable to permit the escapeof grain and litterings than would be a table horizontal throughout.

We use, in our present machine, spring feed aprons, similar to those setforth in our patent No. 379,762, dated March 20,182$S,but in the presentmachine we have, in order to avoid confusion, omitted these aprons, andonly shown the rodf to which they are hung, this rod being carried atits opposite ends by arms f projecting from the opposite plates F, whichcarry the concave bars of the machine. Owing to the width of themachine, this rod fis so long that it has a tendency to spring unless itcan be supported at one or more points between its opposite ends. Wetherefore, in the present machine provide the concave with one or moreprojecting arms g which carry the rod f, and we apply to the fixed frameof the machine, one or more studs g', having vertical inner faces,against which the rodfbears, as shown in Fig. 3, so that while Verticaland outward spring of the rod between its ends is effectually prevented,the rod can rise and fall freely with the end plates of the concave, asthe latter are adjusted vertically to vary the distance between theconcave bars and the bars of the cylinder.

The cylinder is constructed as shown in Figs. 4, 5 and 6 of thedrawings, and consists of a barrel composed of staves bolted to internalframes or spiders F, as shown in Fig. 4, and further held together byconfining bands G at the ends and by one or more intermediate bands Gr,one only of these intermediate bands centrally located in respect to thecylinder, being shown in the drawings, and this being sufficient in mostcases. The end bands are adapted to recesses in the ends of the barrelof the cylinder, so that the outer faces of said bands are flush, ornearly so, with the periphery of said barrel, and the ribbed plates H,with which the surface of the barrel is provided, can be extendedcompletely .to the ends of said barrel, instead of having to bediscontinued at the band, or covered by the band, as they must be whensaid band projects beyond the periphery of the barrel, and in order toretain the outer ends of the plates H, the latter have hookedlugs'iengaging with the end bands G, as shown in Fig. 4. The end bands G areslipped over the ends of the barrel and shrunk thereon, as usual, butthis plan cannot be adopted in applying the central band G if thesurface of the same is to be flush with the surface of the barrel, forthe thickness of the central strengthening band must be greater than theextentof shrinkage which is possible, hence shrinkage cannot be reliedupon to bring the surface of the hand down flush with the surface of thebarrel. We therefore discard a solid band for the center of the barrel,and form this band by wrapping wire or a thin metal strip or band in thecentral groove of the barrel, one, two or more layers being used, as thedesired strength of the central band may suggest, and the end of thewire, strip or band being securely fastened in any available manner. Bythis means we are enabled to provide the barrel of the cylinder, at anydesired point between its ends, with a retaining band of any desiredstrength, wholly sunk within the groove in the barrel, so that theribbed plates H can be carried straight across the bands, whereas whenan intermediate strengthening band projects beyond the surface of thebarrel, said plates must either be discontinued at the band or the baseof the plate must be made so thick that it can be recessed for thereception of the hand, both of which plans are objectionable.

Each of the ribbed plates H of the cylinder has along one edge aprojecting tongue m,

adapted to a longitudinal slot in the barrel of the cylinder, and thesurface of the barrel between the ribbed plates is covered by means ofsheet metal strips n, one edge of each of which is overlapped by one ofthe plates, the other edge being bent to form a tongue, which occupiesthe slot along with the tongue m of the ribbed plate in advance of thesheet metal strip.

Usually, the slots for the reception of the tongues of the cylinderplates and covering strips have been made at the joints between thestaves of the barrel, a plan which is objectionable, because in mostcases, the staves are made of wood, and the shrinkage of the stavesopens thesejoints and affords spaces for dirt to enter the interior ofthe cylinder,

this dirt, in a short time, accumulating in such I quantity as toseriously interfere with the balancing of the cylinder, and cause ittobe come unfit for use. For this reason, there fore, we form the slotsfor the reception of the tongues of the'ribbed plates and coveringstrips in the bodies of the staves, instead of at the joints, the latterbeing covered by the sheet metal strips, so that however much the stavesmay shrink, no openings are afforded for the lodgment of dirt or foreignmatters in any portion of the cylinder. (See Fig. 6.)

The concave of the machine consists of a number of sections,-two in thepresent instance, and each section is composed of a series of metallicbars 5, placed side by side, with intervening spaces.

In the class of machines to which our invention relates, the thrashingis performed by a rubbing process, hence, when the concave is thusconstructed, the edges ofthe bars form an efficient thrashing surface,and

terpose between the bars at suitable intervals, filling blocks 3 andsecure the whole rigidly together by means of bolts .9 curved to accordwith the segmental form of the concave section. At each end of eachconcave section is a head J, (Fig. 8) this head having one or moreinwardly projecting ribs s ,tWo of these ribs being shown in the presentinstance, and to each of these ribs are bolted two of the bars 5 of theconcave section. (See Fig. 13.) .At the center of each section is a barJ, having one rib s (Fig. 3) which takes the place of a filling block 8between the bars 8 of the concave, and from the bar J of the firstconcave section projects the arm g, which carries the apron rod f. Morethan one of the bars J may be used if desired.

The bars 8 are arranged radially, and as said bars are of uniformthickness throughout, the spaces between the bars are tapering, beingnarrowest at the inner face of the con- ,cave, so as to provide afreeclearance for the grain andprevent choking of the concave.

The filling pieces 8 and ribs s are of tapering form, as required by thetaper of the spaces between the bars of the concave.

The end supports or heads J are provided with segmental flanges t, whichfit against the upper sides of the segmental openings in the end platesF carrying the concave sections, and from each head projects a lug twhich rests upon the elastic supporting block a interposed between thelug and an ear on the carrying plate, as shown in Fig. 1, and asdescribed in our former patent above alluded to.

p A concave section constructed in accordance with our invention iscomparatively cheap, and exceedingly strong, durable and efficient, asany one of the bars of the concave, when worn on one of the top edges,can be reversed to bring the wear on the other top edge, and when bothof the top edges become worn, the bars can be inverted, two fresh edgesbeing thus rendered available, strength and durability being alsosecured byinaking the concave bars of wrought iron or steel instead ofcast metal. Bars arranged so as to provide intervening spaces, moreover,present a thrashing surface much superior to a corrugated surface, notonly because the actual loosening or separation of the grain from thestraw is facilitated, but also because these in.- tervening spacespermit an. efficient separation of the grain from the straw before thelatter leaves the thrashing cylinder,nearly four-fifths of the grainbeing thus, separated from the straw and passed at once to the hopper ofthe cleaning shoe before the straw leaves the thrashing cylinder.

It is usuaLinmachines of this class, toreturn the tailings delivered bythe cleaner to the cylinder for being re-thrashed, and the elevatorwhich weuse for this purpose is shown in longitudinal section in Fig. 7,the casing of the elevator consisting of a basew and opposite sidepieces w, and this casing being inclosed at the lower end, so as to forma box with trough-shaped bottomo, for receiving the discharge from thetailings spout, the upper portion of the casing being also inclosed andterminating in a,hood '0 from which the tailings are discharged over aninclined chute qonto the feed table, or into the opening in front of thecylinder in a direction toward the cylinder, so that they areautomatically refed to the latter or in any event require Very littlecare on the part of the attendant.

In the box at the" lower end of theelevator casing is a shaft carrying asprocket wheel I, around which passes an endless chain K, the latteralso passing around a sprocket toothed drum I (Fig. 7) in the hood '0'at the upper end of the casing, the drum preventing the dropping of thetailings as the chain passes over the same. The chain has transversestrips K at suitable intervals, and these strips, on the under portionof the belt, fit snugly against the bottom of the elevator casing, andcarry up the tailings from the box at the lower end of the same. Acarrier wheel L acts upon the endless chain on its return, this carrierwheel being notched to receive the scraping bars K. The chain is guidedin its return, partly by this carrier wheel, partly by a transverseblock M, interposed between the side plates of the elevator casing atthe upper portion of the same, and partly by inwardly projecting stripsM on the sides of the lower portion of said casing, a spacebeingafforded between these strips, so that any material falling on the upperportion of the chain in its return'course can pass through and onto thebottom of the casing, so as to be carried up by the strips on theascending portion of the chain. If desired, the block M may be extended,as shown in Fig. 15, so as to permit the use of a sprocket wheel I, in-.

stead of a drum.

It will be noticed that the tailings are car riedup the elevator in onedirection and delivered to the thrashing cylinder in the 0ppositedirection, hence we are enabled to place the elevator within the laterallimits ,of the thrashing machine frame, making the ma- IIO chine muchmore compact than when the eleshafts of the thrashing machine, and thestopping of the binder necessitates the stopping of the entire thrashingoutfit, and owing to the high speed at which the cylinder of the machineis run, several minutes frequently elapse before the momentum has beenovercome and the machine comes to a full stop, so

that the binder can be re-threaded, and several minutes more will elapsein getting the machine up to its proper speed again after starting.These stoppages, in fact, any stoppages in the continuous running of themachine, are a serious loss to the thrasher-man, who generally receivesas compensation, a certain percentage of the amount of grain thrashed.We therefore discard the usual plan of driving the main shaft of thebinder direct from one of the operating shafts of the thrashingmechanism, and instead of this, impart motion by means of the chain 00to a sprocket wheel N, which turns loosely on a shaft N carried bysuitable hangers on the frame of the binder.

The sprocket wheel N carries one half of a clutch P, the other half P ofwhich is carried by a spur wheel Q, also turning on the shaft N andconnected, by suitable gearing, to the primary shaft of the binder. Thehub Q of this spur wheel is grooved for the reception of one arm of abell-crank lever R, the other arm of which carries a spring clip R,which can be caused to engage with either of two notches r, r in thehanger 0. When the spring catch engages with the upper of these notchesthe spur wheel and its clutch half are withdrawn, so that said clutch isfree from engagement with that part carried by the sprocket wheel N, butwhen the spring catch engages with the lower notch in the hanger,

the two parts of the clutch are in engagement with each other. It willtherefore be seen that by the simple manipulation of the lever R thebinder can be readily thrown into and out of operation without stoppingthe thrashing machine, so that there is no loss of time, and no decreasein the production due to the necessity of stopping the binder.

While it is preferred to have the clutching and releasing mechanismadjacent to the binder, as shown, said mechanism may, if desired, beused in connection with the driving mechanism at the front end of themachine.

In custom thrashing, farmers sometimes prefer to have their grainthrashed and the straw left loose or unbound, and to meet thisrequirement it is now considered necessary to unbolt the binder, andafter disconnecting it, remove it from the thrashing machine frame. Inorder toobviate the necessity of doing this, we employ a movable deck orcover X, so arranged that in cases Where loose straw is preferred, itcan be placed over the binding mechanism so as to form a guide or chuteto carry the loose straw over the binder and deposit it on the groundbeyond the same, or onto a strawstacker. This movable deck or cover isshown in Fig. 1. It may rest against the rear portion of the frame ofthe machine, above the working parts of binder, and be supported eitherby said frame or by some part of the binder. As shown, it rests againstthe frame at its upper end, and is supported at the lower end by atransverse shaft or rod at the outer portion of the binder.

In that class of thrashing machines to which our invention relates, thegrain bottom on which the grain falls after being separated from thestraw, is usually made of boards tongued and grooved together to insuretight joints, so that no waste of grain will be caused 7 5 by openjoints or cracks, and while this object is successfully attained, grainbottoms constructed in this way are very objectionable, and cause muchtrouble in damp or Wet weather, because, owing to the width of themachine, (usually about six feet) a slight swelling of the boards will,owing to their close fit, cause the grain bottom to warp so as toobstruct the free passage of the grain, the

bottom frequently warping to such an extent as to come in contact withthe scrapers of the straw-separating devices, thus causing suspension ofoperation until the boards become dry and again assume their properpositions.

To overcome this objection, we make the grain bottom of a sheet metalplate a: extending from one sideframe of the machine to theother, andgalvanized or painted to prevent rusting. This plate is supported bylongitudinal strips or which, however, are placed at such distancesapart that they can swell or expand to any desired extent withoutcausing the grain bottom to warp and obstruct the action of the machine;moreover, the sheet metal plate affords a surface over which the graincan be I00 easily moved, and one which affords no opportunity forleakage of the grain.

As the binder at the rear of the machine is quite heavy, and is carriedby a portion of the frame which considerably overhangs the [05 betweenthe lower ends of the same, the bars 1 15 T being hung at their upperends to a block 'y, which is hung to a lug y on the cross bar by meansof a pivot at right angles to that between the block and the brace bars,so

as to form, practically, a universal joint con- 12o nectin g the latterto the transverse bars of the frame.

At the lower ends, each brace bar T has a clip 2 engaging with a flangedplateUsecured to the transverse bar T, these plates being r2 inclined inopposite directions, so that by drawing the lower ends of the braces Ttoward each other, the bar T will be thrust downward, and by forcing thelower ends of the braces T apart, said bar T will be raised. 0

This movement of the lower ends of the braces T from and toward eachother is effected by a right and left screw shaft V, the threadedportions of which are adapted to swivel nuts For this reason, no

V carried by suitable plates on the bracebars T.

On the rear axle W of the machine are 'notched shoes W in which the.transverse bar T of the brace rests when said brace is adjusted totheposition shown in Fig. 11, which is the position assumed when themachine is beingtransported from place to place. On arriving at thescene of work, however, the transversebar T of the brace is lifted bymeans of the devices shown, so as to be free from the notched shoes onthe rear axle, and is then swung-around to the'vertical position shownby dotted lines, being blocked up so as to serve as a brace for theoverhanging portion of the frame while the machine is at work, and whenthe machine is to be again prepared for the road, the brace is swung upto the inclined position and the transverse bar T again projected so asto rest in the shoes of the rear axle.

' Having thus described our invention, we claim, and desire'to secure byLetters Patent:

1. The combination of the main frame or casing, the hinged side tablesat the top of the same, braces for said tables pivoted at their lowerends, and connections between the upper portions of the braces and thetables, whereby as the latter are thrown inward the braces will likewisebe drawn inward toward the sidesof the machine, all substantially asspecified.

2. The combination of the feed aprons, and the supporting rod therefor,with a brace for said rod comprising one or more arms projecting fromthe concave, and one or more studs carried by the fixed frame of themachine, and each having a straight face along which the rod is free tomove in its vertical adjustment, all substantially as specified.

3. The combination of the cylinder, with a strengthening band consistingof a series of coils or wrappings of wire or its equivalent asdescribed, adapted to a groove in the cylinder and ribbed thrashingplates applied to the periphery of the cylinder outside of said band,substantially as specified.

at. A cylinder for thrashing machines having sunken strengthening bandsand ribbed metal thrashing plates secured to the cylinder outsideof'said bands and extending from the outer edge of the cylinder at oneend to the edge of said cylinder at the opposite end, and having ontheir faces diagonal ribs carried out full to the ends of the cylinder,substantially as specified.

5. The combination of the cylinder, having end strengthening bandsadaptedto recesses in the cylinder, and ribbed plates extending from endto end of the cylinder and overlapping said strengthening bands, allsubstantially as specified.

6. The combination of the cylinder, and strengthening bands adapted torecesses at the ends of the same, with the ribbed plates extending fromend to end of the cylinder and overlapping said strengthening bands,said plates having hooked lugs engaging with the staves and havingtongues, likewise'adapted to said grooves, all substantially asspecified. 8. The combination of the end plates of the concave, thetransverse metal bars secured to said end plates and having dischargespaces between them, and one or more interposed stiffening bars havinglugs projecting between the transverse bars and forming filling pieces,substantiallyas specified.

-9. The combination of the transverse metal 1 bars of the concave, withthe end plate con sisting of a segmental block having ribs for theattachment of the bars, asegmental flange, and a projecting lug forbearing upon the supporting spring, all substantially as specified.

10. The combination of the casing of the tailings elevator, with theendless chain, its scraping bars, the opposite carrier drums, and theintermediate directing roll notched for the passage of the scrapingbars, all substantially as specified.

11. The combination of the tailings spout and cylinder of the machine,with the tail-- ings elevator curved backward at the upper end so as todischarge the tailings in a direc tion the reverse of that in which theyare carried up andforwardly over the feed table and toward the cylinder,substantially as specified.

12. The combination of the thrashing machine, the binder, means fordriving said binder from one of the shafts of the thrashing machine, andclutching devices whereby the binder can be stopped and startedindependently of the thrashing mechanism, all substantially as and forthe purpose set forth.

13. The combination of the thrashing mechanism and the binder, a drivingbelt adapted at one end to a pulley or Wheel on one of the shafts of thethrashing machine and at the other end to a wheel or pulley adjacent tobut free to turn independently of the primary shaft of the binder, and aclutch and gearing whereby the movement of said loose wheel or pulleymay be transmitted to the primary shaft of the binder, all substantiallyas specified.

14. The combination of the thrashing machine, and the binding mechanism,with a detachable deck adapted to cover the binding mechanism and guidethe loose straw over the same as it comes from the machine, allsubstantially as and for the purpose set forth.

15. The combination of the framework of the machine, overhanging therear axle'and carrying the binder,with a brace pivoted to the upper partof said framejaudadjustable so as to bear either upon the axle or upon asupport beneath the frame, all substantially as specified. I

16. The combination of the rear axle, and the overhanging frame, withthe brace comprising the opposite pivoted bars and the transverse barextending from one of said pivoted bars to the other, all substantiallyas specified.

' 17. The combination of the rear axle havand nuts whereby the side barsof the brace can be drawn together or forced apart, all substantially asspecified.

19. The combination of the overhanging frame of the machine, with theopposite side bars of the brace, and with a block to which said bars arepivoted, said block being hung to the fixed portion of the frame by apin at right angles to the pivot pin of the brace bar, so as to form auniversal joint for the latter, all substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof We have signed our names to this specification inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM H. BUTTERWORTI-I.

t JOHN BUTTERWORTH, JR.

- \Vitnesses:

J. W. DIGNAN, GEORGE MUIRHERD.

